How did my hen manage to hatch her eggs?

[Sleek28]

No, it was never figured out for sure.

Discussion has included whether the other hen was really a rooster (nope), whether the hen had stored sperm from a rooster at her previous home (enough time had passed that it seems highly improbable), whether a neighbor might have a rooster that would come visiting (OP says no-one nearby has any chickens at all), whether there might be a stray or feral rooster or someone just dumped one in the area (OP says none of those are possible), whether a hen's egg can be fertile without mating (parthenogensis in chickens has never been documented to produce live chicks).

Basically, if it isn't a hoax or a troll, we're all still stumped.

The most recent few posts have been discussing a different poster, who was hatching white chicks despite the white rooster having died months before (a different rooster was still with the hens, so it's a question of which rooster was the father.)

Ok thank you so much

 

[hysop]

I'll be curious to see the results

I didn't want to bump this thread with my reply, but just wanted to come back to say that:

I, unfortunately, lost my OE Rooster to Cocci (he looked like had gotten better for a week and then one day we found him; thankfully none of his flock pecked at his body or face)

and so, there won't be a way to test out if the white chicks were a recessive gene or my White Leghorn's seed.

I am incubating some old fridge OE eggs, so if any hatch, I'll edit my post with any findings, it's a high possibility none will hatch, but I'll remain optimistic til the end.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

I didn't want to bump this thread with my reply, but just wanted to come back to say that:

I, unfortunately, lost my OE Rooster to Cocci (he looked like had gotten better for a week and then one day we found him; thankfully none of his flock pecked at his body or face)

and so, there won't be a way to test out if the white chicks were a recessive gene or my White Leghorn's seed.

I am incubating some old fridge OE eggs, so if any hatch, I'll edit my post with any findings, it's a high possibility none will hatch, but I'll remain optimistic til the end.

I’m sooo sorry!

 

[Ms Oneal]

Aren't they fertile up to two to three weeks after mating?